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Barbara Horak: 40 years later, it's time to look again at abortion issues

By Barbara Horak \ Guest columnist

Posted:
01/20/2013 12:00:00 AM MST

Forty years.

Forty years since a chilly morning in Washington D.C. when U.S. Supreme Court justices announced their decisions in Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton. These decisions legalized abortion of unborn babies through all nine months of pregnancy.

Seven of the nine justices decided that unborn humans were not "persons" and therefore were not entitled to constitutional protection. They effectively decided that an unborn baby was the pro perty of the mother who could choose life or abortion for her child.

This year, one day before this 40th anniversary of Roe and Doe, we will celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In 1857, the Su preme Court made a similar decision in regard to "persons of color" in Dred Scott v. Sanford.

Seven of the nine justices decided that "persons of color were not included in the word 'citizens,' " and therefore were not entitled to constitutional protection. These persons of African ancestry were considered "articles of property."

It took Congress and the state legislatures eight years to right the wrong of slavery. By proposing and ratifying the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, slavery was abolished, and three years later, the 14th Amendment declared that African-Americans could be "citizens" entitled to protection of the laws.

If Roe and Doe had been decided before MLK's birthday on Jan. 15, 1929, and if the current statistics on abortion prevailed at that time, we might not be celebrating this man's heroic life. One out of every three black babies is aborted, so there is a 1-in-3 chance that Martin Luther King Jr. would not have been born alive.

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The Supreme Court has completely reversed at least 100 of its own major decisions, so even this eminent group acknowledges it makes mistakes. Our elected officials decided that the high court decision justifying slavery in Dred Scott was wrong. Today, many believe that the Roe and Doe decisions legalizing abortion are wrong.

In 40 years, we have aborted over 50 million human beings who were destined to become civil-rights leaders, teachers, medical researchers, and maybe even a pope or a president.

As an accountant, I'm interested in numbers. I have studied population numbers and what economists are saying. Frankly, I am alarmed about the demographics of abortion and how this affects our economy now and in the future.

When the rate of births falls versus retirements, then a shrinking population is forced to support the old-age needs of persons no longer able to bolster the economy. Baby boomers, about 75 million born in the 18 years after World War II, drove the economy to record highs for over 50 years. But now we are seeing the lowest population growth since the 1930s. And the boomers' productivity is decreasing as they have started to retire.

And Social Security? When monthly benefits were started in 1940, there were 159.4 workers for every beneficiary. In 2010, there were only 1.75 full-time private- sector workers for every beneficiary. In 2013, and for the next 16 years, the number of beneficiaries will increase each year by about 4 million as more boomers reach retirement age. And this year, there will be 17 million fewer workers due to abortion.

The bottom line: Because of abortion, we've lost the demographic balance that allows for a robust economy. We're now in the Baby Bust years.

In the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," Jimmy Stewart's character, George Bailey, wishes he had never been born. His wish is granted and George discovers that because he never existed, everything in his hometown has changed. George's agonizing conclusion:

"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

Forty years! It is time?

For the Supreme Court to re-consider its decisions in Roe and Doe? Or for Congress to declare that human beings living inside the womb are entitled to the same protections as we human beings living outside the womb?